Heir of the Clans, Book 1: Dark Alleys
by theGraceOfGray
Summary: She has been having troubled dreams that she doesn't understand. Every night she wakes in her kittypet home with a feeling of wrongness. She leaves home one night and never returns. He lives in an upside-down world, forced to do the dirty work of the alley cat gangs. When he meets her, he can't shake this feeling of...familiarity. (Told by two characters.) Rated T.
1. Prologue

**PROLOGUE**

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The heavens glowed peacefully in the deep, indigo sky. They were still for a moment, stars shining just as brightly as ever. A few clouds drifted lazily across the glowing moon, a dark silver in color from the lack of sunlight. In turn the wisp spiraled past a few stars. A faint light blinked beyond it, and when the cloud had passed, one of the stars had flickered, and then died.

Up in Silverpelt, the cats of StarClan were going mad with worry.

"Who was it this time?" a dark blue she-cat with hardly any tail called out to the others as they passed her by. One small brown tabby stopped to reply for a moment.

"Shadowface," she replied sadly, before dashing away again.

The blue cat looked away, nodding. Shadowface had been an old warrior, very respected. The she-cat stood from where she sat perched atop a flat boulder, and began to pad slowly after the group of cats that was rushing past her to the place she knew they were all going. Silvery grass bent under her starlit paws. Something like that would have seemed very unusual to a living cat, she thought. Who knew that a creature as dead as a decaying carcass could appear so alive, here, in the stars. Alive enough to leave pawmarks and feel the dew upon the grass. Despite all the evidence that pointed to her existence, her mind was clouded with a doubt she had never felt before, not even when she had been living and breathing.

She had been told all her living life that StarClan was everlasting. That as long as the sky existed, and there were cats in the world, they would stay strong, always watching over them. Always protecting.

But now almost every moon, another star would die. Permanently die. It had begun with the ancients. All those cats who had been the first of each tribe, each clan, was now gone. They had disappeared, one by one. They had been the start of the beginning, and now they were the beginning of what appeared to be the end.

Once, a wise cat had said that after every dawn, there would be a dusk. A darkness to come. And then a new age, once again, just as the days passed into night, and the sun rose again. This time, it seemed as if that wouldn't be the case. More and more cats were leaving them. And it was no secret as to why.

The clans and tribes were all gone. Finished.

They had died off, killed each other until no cat was left, scattered; it didn't matter what had happened to them. What mattered was that they were gone now. The warrior code no longer existed in a single living cat's heart. And because of this, StarClan was slowly disappearing as well. They no longer had a purpose. It hadn't been the simple existence of cats in the world that caused StarClan to shine. It was the order in which they lived. Many times before, the warrior code had been threatened, but the clans had always arisen above the threat. But now…

Without realizing, the she-cat found herself at the edge of an enormous pool of water, so still and thick it was like looking into liquid silver. It glittered with the reflections of starlight that bounced off each cat's paws. Looking around, she saw familiar faces; cats she once knew, or was still close with. Much more than that, however, were all the cats she did not know. She knew their names. It was something that basically came with StarClan, she had realized soon after she had joined their ranks. Every cat knew who the other was and which clan they came from.

StarClan wasn't just made up of those four most famous clans often whispered in legends, no. The entirety of StarClan included every clan that had ever existed. But living in the stars, boundaries and great stretches of the earth never kept them apart. They were one, here.

Suddenly gasps burst through their ranks. The surface of the pool had begun to boil and splash, churning with bright colors. This was entirely unexpected, nothing like this had ever happened during a mourning before. They all knew what was happening, however, and cats were straining to get a better look.

In the midst of the pool, an image formed. Gasps erupted from the crowd, whispers and mutterings. Words seemed to echo in the she-cat's head. _After every dawn, there will be a dusk. A darkness to come. And then a new age will arise with the sun. This is how it has always been. This is how it will always be._

And finally, there was hope again.

Cats looking up into the midnight sky found their minds shimmering with curiosity as to why the heavens had suddenly glowed so much brighter.

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**Hey readers!**

**So, I just wanted to sum up a few things. Basically, StarClan is dying. If you didn't catch that.**

**The "four most famous clans often whispered in legends" are, you got it, Thunder, River, Wind, and Shadow. But I decided to write that those weren't all the clans in existence! Because all of you fans like me create your own clans all the time, I decided to write that there were hundreds, possibly thousands, of clans all over the world, and they all shared StarClan and the Dark Forest.**

**The whole dawn and dusk thing, a new age rising, etc, I got that from Rock and Midnight (SPOILERS) at the end of OOTS #6: The Last Hope. I did _not_ quote it word for word, _obviously_.**

**All credits of StarClan to Erin Hunter. My characters are my own.**

**Thanks everybody!**


	2. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

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_Darkness shrouded her vision. She blinked several times, trying to grasp something in the shadows, but nothing appeared. Looking down, not even her own paws were visible in the blackness. Fighting back her sense of unease, the young she-cat plunged forward – and suddenly reared back! A light had erupted in front of her, and she turned her head away from the blaze that illuminated what appeared to be trees around her. The glare was hurting her eyes, and she screwed them shut._

_Slowly the brightness began to fade just a little bit. Suddenly anxious that it would disappear completely, she stretched open her eyes as if to grasp what she could before it went dark again._

_Obsidian trees found her eyes, stretching as far up as she could see, with hardly any branches. The sky was entirely white, though it was darkening considerably as the light went out. She could hear nothing, smell nothing, her eyes were watering from the sheer strain of trying to see. Just before it all went black once more, she though she saw the shape of…something. Moving around in the shadows._

_With a sudden intake of breath, Snowbelle's head shot up out of her nest._

Inhale. Exhale. Snowbelle had her eyelids pinned forcefully shut and she breathed slowly, her chest heaving up and down. The tiny white cat blinked, the golden orbs within reflecting the moonlight that bounced off of the shining stone floor of the twoleg nest.

Sighing unhappily, she stretched out her neck to rest over her paws, which were stretched out in front of her on her soft nest. That was the second time she'd woken up in the middle of the night due to a strange dream. The last one, however, had been very different.

She had been running, and the world had been entirely gray, the foggy background blurred. A heavy sound of pawsteps thundering around her had woken her, though the creatures they belonged to had not been shown.

Snowbelle decided it would be silly to stay in her nest and mope about a sleep long lost. She stretched all four paws out from under her, her toes flexing in pools of moonlight, before she pulled her legs back in and stood, the squishy interior of her nest unbalancing her slightly. The young she-cat padded across the icy cold flooring and around the wall. The entrance to the dirtplace was slightly closed, and, pushing down a sniff of dissatisfaction at her housefolk's silly misstep, Snowbelle nudged inside with her nose. She quickly made her dirt in the dusty-smelling gravel in the corner.

Again in the kitchen, Snowbelle padded up to the branch set on the opposite wall, and leaped soundlessly up onto it. She placed her front paws up onto the ledge, careful not to knock off one of her housequeen's plants. Peeking her head over a few of the flat, enormous droopy red flowers, Snowbelle strained to see the outside world.

Nighttime was odd, she thought to herself. The world was so dark and cold during the night. But these days, she found herself more awake in the later hours, rather than when the sun was actually shining. At her height, she could just barely see over the fence – her twoleg's nest sat on a small slope. Though she often wished for a beautiful sense of scenery to grasp her attention – forests, fields, an odd horse ranch, anything! - she was given the barren city to dream about. A smoky haze slept stilly over the hundreds of nests that stretched out before her, their lights flickering even in the distance. Some might call it beautiful, and she often found herself looking out at the glittering shadows, but not for that reason. Monsters were always upsetting the birds that fluttered down into the garden, sending their suffocating stench all over the hydrangea bushes. And sometimes she could see ragged cats, or dogs, sniffing around the crow-food piles the twolegs left out.

And yet…

Snowbelle sighed again and jumped down from her perch, heading back over to where she had been sleeping before. She loved her housefolk, she really did…but she couldn't help but feel like she was meant for something else. A more exciting life than this, perhaps.

Snowbelle shook her head. Of course she didn't want anything else. She had a lovely home, enough water and food, she had friends, and she was cared for. That was certainly far better than anything the city could give her.

* * *

Her eyelids were bright pink when she woke next. Refusing to open her eyes to the blinding sunlight she knew awaited her, Snowbelle rolled over instead, sleeping partially on her back now, one paw curled over her chest; the other was stretched out, resting off of her nest.

Finally, the rattling of her food dish made her open her eyes. Yawning largely, she rolled out of her position into one where she was standing. Her housequeen was always the one that filled up her food. Snowbelle rubbed up against her as she watched the pellets clink into the dish. The female reached down and scratched the side of her white head and she jerked her head up, willing her to scratch underneath her chin as well. Instead, the housequeen just padded away from her, stretching as she went. A little disgruntled, Snowbelle flicked her tail before going to her bowl.

She wrinkled her nose. It was much fuller than it usually was. There was no way she was going to be able to eat it all, not now, not today at all. Perhaps her housefolk thought she wasn't eating enough. It wasn't _her_ fault she was so small. She just…didn't grow. Snowbelle managed to eat a few more mouthfuls of the salty, yet bitter, pellets. Meowing loudly, she padded over to the den's entrance to the garden. The housetom finally emerged for the first time that morning to let her out; crooning at her, he reached down to stroke her, but she was no longer in the mood.

Purring contently, Snowbelle trotted out of the nest. The air smelled fresh and fragrant, which was rather unusual. She realized that it must have rained, and she skirted puddles carefully as she stepped down the slope towards the tree at the edge of the fence. Clambering up into it, she swung her head around to lick off stray pieces of bark that had caught in her feathery fur, a few white strands coming off on her tongue as well. This soon turned into a full-out grooming, sitting here in the thin tree. A soft breeze wrinkled her good job and she shook her fur out, unconcerned.

Winding streets and a few hedgerows peeked out from every side that she looked. Though she was at the very edge of the twolegplace, she could see nests stretching on either side of her, and knew from past memory that there was a lot more on the opposite end of her own home. Straight across from her, was the dull gray/brown smog of the city.

"'Ey, Snowbelle!"

Whipping her head around, Snowbelle quickly caught a glimpse of the speaker. A broad grin spread across her whiskers.

"Oh, good morning Merry," she purred at the fat ginger tom who was squatting in his own garden next door.

"What're you doin' up in the tree?" He looked rather confused. Merry was a dear old soul, who had lived alongside her home since before she had arrived there as a kitten. He was a bit simple-minded, and didn't get out much, because his health often deteriorated. It was good to see him out and about.

"I was just thinking how much better I could see everything from up here," she called down to him.

"Well you can't see me too much. I'm far away."

Purring slightly, Snowbelle leaped from her tree and landed beside him. "Now I can see you." Leaning in close, she tried to stifle her teasing purr. "I can see every whisker on your graying old face."

Merry wheezed with laughter, closing his eyes and wrenching his head back. Snowbelle laughed too, backing off a step or two before relaxing into the slowly drying grass beside him. When he had finally subsided, she noticed sticky liquid had stained the fur under his eyes again. That wasn't too uncommon for cats, but it certainly looked uncomfortable. Snowbelle was secretly grateful she didn't have those.

"Whatcha been up to, me darlin'?"

"Well…" Snowbelle debated on if she should tell him. "I've been having these odd dreams."

"Now, now. That's to be expected. You're nervous about something, ain't ya? I've noticed the past couple times I've seen you out in the garden. Actin' all twitchy and the like." He nodded as if he understood everything without her even saying it.

She was surprised. Merry was very observant for his age, she often forgot. "Yes, I suppose I am. But it's more of the fact that I'm nervous _because _I'm having the dreams, not dreaming because I'm nervous."

Owing to his slightly cross-eyed look, he hadn't quite retained everything she'd said. Snowbelle sighed inwardly. He was a dear old tom, but he wasn't really what you would call an understanding friend.

"Well, I kin tell ya' just what to do about that, I can." Merry plowed on. He started droning on and on, and though Snowbelle tried hard to listen to his lecture, nodding occasionally and saying "yeah" when he paused, she couldn't keep her tail from twitching. Was it from nerves, or was she just itching to get away? But away to what? There wasn't much to do inside her twoleg's nest. Nothing at all.

"I have to go," she stood suddenly, realizing a second later that she had interrupted him in the middle of a sentence. He was squinting up at her, one ear to the side. "Sorry," she added quickly. "It's just, I think I can hear my housefolk calling me."

"'Sall right, 'sall right. I understand." Merry turned his head to squint instead at his own twoleg's nest, the black collar tinkling around his neck as he did so. Suddenly impatient to leave, she bowed her head.

"Thank you for all of your help." Trying to force up a smile, she turned and padded swiftly away.

"Anytime, love. Anytime." Her ears twitched at the old tom's goodbye and she felt a slice of guilt go through her.

Gathering her haunches, she sprang up along the fence and stepped carefully off into her own garden. However, she had no intention of heading into the nest. Turning abruptly to the right, Snowbelle pranced off down the fence till she could squeeze under the other side, to the front of the twoleg nest where she lived.

Her whiskers twitching at the newer, yet still familiar, smells that began to invade her nostrils, she stepped out into the heart of the twolegplace.


	3. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

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Dust glittered in the sunlight as it streamed down from the sky, crisscrossed by the wires that stretched from one twoleg nest to the other, some differently colored pelts flapping in the light breeze. In the depths of the alley below, a pile of fluffy gray fur could be seen sticking out from a tight, square box. The lid was sticking up, providing partial shade from the heat, and inside the mound of fur moved up and down, as if it were breathing.

"Taken Brave." An amused voice cracked the silence like a monster's yowl.

Ears popped up from within the mass of gray, followed slowly by a groggy cat head, amber eyes blinking blearily. Taken Brave found himself looking into the wide brown eyes of another cat, tawny furred and tall, standing over him and his box.

"What is it, Sammy?" Taken pushed his paws up against the sides of the box, turning his body inside it, so that he faced away from the other tom, his head in the shade, and his open eyes staring fixedly on the stripe of sunlight on the inside of the lid that was propped up against his nest.

"Ashes wants to see you." Sammy could hardly disguise how his voice was shaking, with what Taken guessed was excitement. He let out a sigh, watching his long, silvery whiskers flutter as he did so. They tickled his eyes when he replied.

"Is it another mission?"

"That's not for me to say." Giggling softly, Sammy began to trot slowly away. Taken popped his head out of the box again, calling out to him.

"When?"

But the other tom only gave a shuddering hiss of laughter, before he swept down the corner, and out of sight.

The air was always stuffy in the city. Smoke that billowed from the monster's tails as they prowled across the thunderpaths tended to settle over everything. Not to mention everything was a lot warmer on the paths, sending billowing clouds of heat over the alleys closest.

Taken Brave hated it.

He hated the city. He hated being unable to breathe. He hated the dirt and grime that he had to constantly shake out of his thick pelt.

But it wasn't like he had a choice.

He padded down one of the grimiest alleys in the city. One would think that the most powerful gang leader in the whole territory would clean up a bit, but no. Not for Ashes. Filthy cloths and leaves of twoleg mulch covered the ground, which was covered with a thin layer of dirt and dust. The walls of the narrow, winding pathway was crowded with the tall, shimmery silver bins he sometimes fished crowfood out of.

As he went along, eyes began to glint out of the shadowy corners. Though the sun shone brightly in the sky, it barely reached this narrow alley, and Taken saw the eyes of the gang before he saw their bodies. Hackles raised and fur on end, thin, ragged cats stepped out of the darkness, their ears back and their tail tips twitching back and forth.

Taken ignored their hisses and jibes as they followed him down the alley. He recognized only half their pelts or voices, though all of them knew him.

Looming out of the shadows appeared a large, bulking object. Some kind of raised platform came into focus. Taken had seen it many times before; he recognized pelts of faded colors that she had dragged in on top of it for her nest. Knowing she was there, Taken dared not to raise his head and look at the silhouette perched above him on the ledge, instead lowering his head and his tail as well, in what was supposed to be a sign of respect.

"Taken Brave…" purred a sickeningly sweet voice, not cold and cool, but as if the blazing sunlight burned so hot it was melting from the sky, burning the paws of all those who came nearer.

"Ashes." Taken took the opportunity to look up, and stretched back his neck to see two gleaming, frosty colored eyes staring back at him from a thin, angular gray face. Ashes was not a pretty sight, her silvery pelt hung around her bony shoulders, the stripes a bit too long for her, and her ears stuck out large and tall from a head that seemed too small for them. Despite her weak appearance, she was one of the most powerful gang leaders in the city. Her way around words and her persuasive tactics always got her what she wanted.

Someone new may wonder if it was really Ashes they needed to worry for, and not her closest followers. This would be the most foolish thing they would ever think, and then they would be dead. It had happened before, and it would happen again.

"I suppose you know why you are here," she purred silkily.

"No, actually." Taken blinked, raising his eyebrows. "Sammy here didn't give me any details, only that you wanted to see me." Beside the ledge, the mud brown tom shrunk back.

Her eyes darkened, the usual colorless orbs showing a hint of blue, but she continued to purr in her velvet tone. "Of course, no wonder you were late." Her claws unsheathed. "Sammy will know next time to do as he is told."

Leaping down from her place of power, Ashes wound her bony self around Taken. His stomach clenched in disgust, but he didn't move, staring straight ahead, focusing on the grimy wall. "Well, as you should know, I have another mission for you."

"_Do_ you?" said Taken in monotone.

Ashes stuck her head under his tail and raised it again, so his bushy tail was resting over her head. Taken tensed, but still didn't move. "Yes. You see," she meowed in a simpering voice, "there's a cat that just won't be moved by my charm." His tail dropped around her neck as she moved a step forward, and Taken finally chanced a glance around to look at her. She was grinning broadly. He snapped his head back straight.

"I haven't taken away his mate, or his kits either. Oh no, no I've been very good and sweet." With a sigh, Ashes wound the rest of her way around Taken on his other side, digging into his side with her shoulder, almost unbalancing him. Within a hiss of laughter she whispered in his ear, "I just can't get him to see my side of our argument." With a deep, theatrical sigh she padded away, whisking her own thin tail under his nose so that he flinched away.

"What is your argument?" Taken asked, eyes narrowed.

Ashes shook her head, looking back with a honey-sweet pout. "Oh Taken, _darling_, you know I can't reveal to you anything but your mission," speaking faster now, as if impatient with his question. Turning her back on him she added, "That was our agreement…was it not?" She swept another glance at him, and this time she was positively beaming.

"Yes. That was our agreement," Taken Brave replied stiffly.

"You wouldn't want anything to happen to your darling little sister…what was her name?" Ashes was turned to the side, talking as if to herself. "Oh yes! _Silence._" Hearing the name made Taken tense up even more than before, if that were possible. "Odd name, don't you think?" She asked sweetly, still not looking at him.

Taken did not reply.

"Of course, you wouldn't want her to _become_ her name now, would you?" Taken gasped quietly, his eyes widening in terror. The gasp was not missed by Ashes, who swung around towards him with a victorious look in her wild yellow eyes.

He stared right back, willing his face to be devoid of all expression. Ashes' features relaxed, apparently in disappointment.

"I tire of our little games, Taken Brave." She sighed dramatically again, turning away once more. "I am bored of you. Go away and do what we've agreed for you to do."

"What is the mission?" He croaked.

"Oh, Taken!" He could actually imagine her rolling her eyes and knew she was nearing her breaking point. "The 'mission' is the same as always! Done by tonight, you hear? Sammy, get him out."

Taken stepped forward, out of the way of Sammy as he stumbled forward to do his duty. "You haven't told me where to find this cat."

"Sammy'll tell you." Her voice became rather quick and sharp. "Now go away."

And with that, Taken Brave was herded away down and out the alley.

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**AN: Sorry for the late post! I will hopefully get chapters 3 and 4 up before I leave this weekend, but I can't be sure. It'll probably be just chapter 3.**

**Thank you so much for reading, and for writing reviews! It really means a lot to me!**


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